How Should We Honor Our Deceased Members?

Focus #1: 

Honoring a Deceased Member…
The International Membership Committee is often asked about the need for chapters and state organizations to strictly adhere to the published procedural practices when planning the Celebration of Life/ Remembrance/Necrology Ceremony for a deceased member.

Our response is that chapters and state organizations are free to honor their deceased members by any processes and procedures they choose. Chapters and state organizations are not bound or restricted to any International Ceremony of Life/Remembrance/Necrology Service, including those suggested on the website or other publications.

The content of the ceremony is entirely at the chapter and state discretion. Many chapters and state organization do choose the traditional published ceremonies to provide continuity of practice. It is their choice.

Individualized ceremonies remind us of the personal aspects of our deceased member’s contributions to DKG. The International Membership Committee encourages unique and personal tributes appropriate to the memory of members; whether that be through printed biographies, testimonies, photographic displays, PowerPoints, necrology readings, music, artistic displays, deciding on the use of roses/ academic regalia or candles, or a combination of these or other enclosures when developing a personalized ceremony.

The important factor is to honor the member and to remember her service to DKG.

Appeal to Your Reader Marketing DKG

 Use words that appeal to DKG members and potential members when writing articles, developing flyers, posting on social media, and speaking about DKG. Keywords that excite readers about upcoming events are more likely to get that “Yes,” RSVP. For example, instead of advertising “February Meeting,” advertise “Network with Colleagues.” Instead of “Annual Retreat,” promote “Women Leaders on the Move.”

Use the values you love about membership in DKG to attract like-minded educators, get your members out to meetings and events, and spark the attention of potential members. These examples show how the words “December Meeting” can be changed into “Share, Help, Shop.” Would a member rather attend a meeting or share, help and shop? 

New Recruitment Plan

 

Are you looking for ways to increase the number of new members you take into your chapter? Have you tried the new recruitment plan that was developed a couple of biennia ago? This plan has proven successful for many chapters. An overview of the plan and various sample documents to go with it can be found on the international website under the Resources tab then Chapter Tools then Recruitment Plan. Are you looking for a way to get into districts where you have no members? In this area you will also find a sample letter you can send to a district superintendent or principal asking for recommendations. Once you have found new members how do you keep them? The document, “Keeping New Member Engaged” offers tips on how you can make sure that new members become active members of the chapter.

Sharing Our Values Marketing DKG

Daily attitudes, spoken words, published articles and social media posts are all marketing tools for the Society. If the word “Marketing” seems daunting, try this activity with your DKG colleagues.

Distribute a set of hand-shaped cut outs to your group. Ask each member to write the words that represent what she personally values about DKG on the hand. Have participants share their values with each other by chatting and passing their hands around. Ask them to call out some of the words and compare similarities with the group. The purpose is to focus members on why they are members and their personal and group values of membership.

Now, connect these value words to the idea of marketing. Use these key words when writing articles, developing flyers, posting on social media, and speaking about DKG. For example, instead of advertising “February Meeting,” advertise “Network with Colleagues.” Instead of “Annual Retreat,” promote “Women Leaders on the Move.”

Ceremonies Revamped

Do you have a chapter induction or installation ceremony coming up and you can’t find that old red ceremonies booklet? Never fear, while that red booklet has been retired you can still find sample ceremonies on the international website under the Resources tab and then Ceremonies. You read that correctly, there are no official ceremonies but just samples which you can personalize to meet the needs of your chapter. Some of the sample ceremonies you can find here include: chapter induction, installation of chapter officers, founders’ day, recommitment and ceremony of life.